By Robin G. Jordan
How does the Anglican Church in North America stack up when
its teaching and practices are compared to those of authentic historic
Anglicanism?
The English Reformers maintained and the majority of
Anglicans have held since the early days of the English Reformation that the
historic episcopate is of the bene esse
of the Church. In other words, it is beneficial to the Church’s well-being but
it is not essential to its existence.
The Anglican Church in North America in its fundamental
declarations maintains that the historic episcopate is of the esse of the Church. It is absolutely
essential to the Church’s very existence. This is the position of the Roman
Catholic Church.
The English Reformers concluded from their study of the
Bible that presbyter and bishop, while they were different offices were the
same order. Evangelical Anglicans maintain this view to the present day. The
Preface of the 1662 Ordinal does not exclude this view. The Thirty-Nine
Articles of Religion takes no position on the issue.
The Anglican Church in North America in its ordinal
maintains that presbyter and bishop are separate orders. It has altered the
Preface of the 1662 Ordinal to reflect its view and to exclude the view of the
English Reformers and Evangelical Anglicans.
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the 1662 Ordinal
take the position that the bishop at the making of a deacon, the ordering of a
presbyter, and the consecration of a bishop formally confers upon the candidate
the authority to perform a particular ministry in the Church.
The Anglican Church in North America in its ordinal takes
the position that the bishop on these occasions bestows upon the candidate a
special grace, a position that it shares with the Roman Catholic Church.
The English Reformers eliminated from the Anglican Ordinal a
number of ceremonies that formed a part of the Medieval Catholic rites of
ordination and which were strongly associated with the Medieval Catholic
doctrines of apostolic succession, eucharistic presence, and eucharistic
sacrifice. They replaced these ceremonies with the presentation of the Book of
Gospels or the Bible—a reminder that the newly-ordained minister was first and
foremost a minister of God’s Word.
The ordination rites of the ACNA are remarkably similar to
those of the Roman Catholic Church. The Anglican Church in North America in its
ordinal revives the abolished ceremonies. While these ceremonies are for the
most part optional, one is not—the presentation of the new presbyter with a
chalice—a ceremony that has strong associations with Medieval Catholic
sacerdotal view of the priesthood. The ACNA has also revived the associated
ceremony of anointing the new priest’s hands with blessed oil—the same hands
through which Medieval Catholics believed and present day Roman Catholics
believe, Christ offers himself again and again for the sins of the living and
the dead in the sacrifice of the Mass.
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the 1662 Book of
Common Prayer recognize only two sacraments—Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Thirty-Nine Articles classifies
confirmation, absolution, ordination, matrimony, and anointing of the sick as
having grown partly from “the corrupt following of the Apostles” and partly
being “states of life allowed in the Scriptures.” The Articles do not classify them as sacraments,
noting that they have no “visible sign or ceremony” ordained by God.
The Anglican Church in North America in its catechism
maintains that confirmation, absolution, ordination, matrimony, and anointing
of the sick are “sacraments of the Church” and confer a special grace. This is
also the position of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion in very strong language
rejects as inconsistent with the teaching of the Bible the Medieval Catholic
doctrines of the sacrifice of the Mass and transubstantiation. Anything
suggestive of the Medieval Catholic doctrine of eucharistic sacrifice has been
eliminated from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The Declaration on Kneeling in
the 1662 Prayer Book maintains that the bread and wine undergo no change when
they are consecrated. Christ is not substantively present in the consecrated
elements.
Both forms of “Holy Communion” in the proposed ACNA Prayer
Book incorporate elements that have a strong association with these two
Medieval Catholic doctrines, which are also the doctrines of the present day
Roman Catholic Church. These elements, where they are used in the two forms,
and how they are used give expression to the same doctrines of eucharistic
sacrifice and eucharistic presence.
The departures from authentic historic Anglicanism that I
have identified in this article are not the Anglican Church in North America’s
only departures from the teaching of the Bible and the doctrine of the Anglican
formularies. For example, the ACNA baptismal rite teaches baptismal
regeneration; the exhortation in the two forms of “Holy Communion,” auricular
confession.
Based on a comparison of the teaching and practices of the
Anglican Church in North America with with those of authentic historic
Anglicanism, a more accurate description of the ACNA is that the denomination
is an independent Catholic Church,
not an Anglican Church. The ACNA is
creedal and takes a traditional view of marriage and human sexuality. However,
it does not measure up to Anglicanism’s longstanding doctrinal and worship standard—the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the Book of Common Prayer and Ordinal
of 1662—in a number of key areas. Its deviation from the faith and doctrine
commanded in the Holy Scriptures and taught in the Anglican formularies is not
minor or insignificant.
The Anglican Church in North America is not homogeneous. The
ACNA does include clergy and congregations that identify themselves as
Protestant, fully accept the Bible as their rule of faith and life, and subscribe
to the principles of doctrine and worship laid out in the Anglican formularies.
The ACNA constitution and canons, however, makes no allowance for the presence
of such clergy and congregations in the denomination. Under the provisions of
the ACNA canons they are expected to conform to official ACNA doctrine as set
out in its fundamental declarations, canons, catechism, and proposed Prayer
Book.
Since its inception those leaders who occupy the position of
power in the Anglican Church in America have shown no inclination to comprehend
the beliefs of this group of clergy and congregations. Currently its presence
is tolerated but for how long?
When one group entrenches its views and makes no room for
the legitimate views of other groups, the term that describes what that group
is doing is exclusion. It has adopted
a policy of freezing out those groups that do not share its views.
It happened in the Episcopal Church. It is happening in the
Anglican Church in North America.
Liberal Episcopalians did not eject conservative
Episcopalians from the Episcopal Church. They just made it more difficult for
conservative Episcopalians to practice their beliefs.
The same thing is happening in the Anglican Church in North America. In the ACNA members
of the denomination who subscribe to a form of unreformed Catholicism are making
it increasingly difficult for the denomination’s Biblically-faithful, fully
Anglican members to practice their faith.
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